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By: - 24th January 2006 at 09:14 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I'm at work at the moment, but I've got a Russian book at home that might very well be of assistance.
I'll post again later when I've had the chance to look at it.
By: - 24th January 2006 at 11:56 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The Tu144S model had the Kuznetsov NK-144 engines & the Tu144D had Koliesov RD-36-51 engines. Can find no info to suggest there was a size difference between these production varients.
By: - 24th January 2006 at 18:49 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I checked the book and it doesn't contain any technical data on the -144D. :(
By: - 24th January 2006 at 19:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Here's what I found from a NASA informational .pdf file.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/pdf/120315main_FS-062-DFRC.pdf
They flew a Tu-144LL which was originally a Tu-144D that they modified into a flying laboratory. Here's the tech. information from the above file.
The modified Tu-144LL Flying Laboratory used for the NASA flight research program has essentially the same dimensions as the Tu-144D model, although the new engines installed for the program give it improved performance.The aircraft has a wingspan of 94 feet, 6 inches, an overall length of 215 feet, 6 inches, and a height of 42 feet 2 inches. Its nose droops up to 12 degrees for better pilot visibility on takeoff and landing, and retractable canards are extended to give the aircraft better pitch control at low airspeeds. Maximum takeoff weight of the Tu-144LL is about 410,000 pounds, including a full load of 224,000 pounds of fuel.
The newer Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofan engines, rated at more than 55,000 pounds thrust in full afterburner, give the aircraft a maximum cruising speed above Mach 2.3 (about 1,550 mph). These engines also give the Tu-144LL a greatly improved range of about 3,500 nautical miles (4,040 statute miles/6,500 km).
Before being upgraded to the “LL” configuration, the Tu144D was powered by four Koliesov RD-36-51 turbojets which gave it a maximum cruising speed of Mach 2.15 (2.15 times the speed of sound or approximately 1,450mph) at 59,000 feet altitude. It had a maximum range of less than 2,500 miles and an absolute ceiling of 62,000 feet. The Tu-144D was designed to carry up to 140 passengers, although earlier models used in actual passenger service were configured for only 100 seats.
The Tu-144LL is constructed mostly of a light aluminum alloy. Titanium and stainless steel were used for the leading edges, elevons, rudder and under-surface of the rear fuselage.
I hope this helps.
By: - 24th January 2006 at 21:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Interesting.
Here's what I've been able to figure based on observations alone:
I looked at a clear side view of Tu-144 77109, and one of Tu-144D 77112. Both of the images showed the right side of the aircraft.
77109 had the following configuration from nose to tail:
door-12 windows-door-11 windows-door-10 windows-door
77112 had the exact same configuration. Based on the side views, the doors are all positioned at the same spots on the aircraft. Neither the nose nor the tail appear to be any longer or shorter on either aircraft.
For right now, my assumption is that there were in fact no dimensional changes made when constructing the D model, as is often (apparently erroneously) reported. Rather, it would seem that the D model merely introduced a new powerplant, the RD-36-51A.
Amusingly, the NASA figures posted above by Whiskey Delta match up with the given Tu-144 figures I'm looking at right now. There are a few discrepancies. The height given by NASA is 14 inches taller, and the wingspan is 2 feet, 7 inches greater in the NASA report. The NASA numbers are fine though: Tu-144Ds did have wingtip extensions, and the addition of the test equipment in the forward fuselage of the Tu-144LL may have caused the hydraulic nose strut to compress slightly more, lowering the nose and raising the tail as the aircraft has a very pronounced nose-up attitude on the ground.
Interesting, very interesting.
By: - 24th January 2006 at 22:02 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
http://home.arcor.de/usrw2/Julian/Technische_Daten.html
type ........ Tu-144 ...... Tu-144D
wingspan .. 28,90 m ..... 28,80 m
Length ..... 65,68 m ..... 65,68 m
Height ..... 12,85 m ...... 12,85 m
By: - 24th January 2006 at 22:11 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
They've got the wingspans backwards. I'll post a few pictures showing why later.
By: - 25th January 2006 at 00:30 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I've got that book, pretty neat. Also have the Tupolev Aircraft since 19XX book, and a whole mess of other sources featuring info on the Tu-144 (which is stupidly underrated in the field of aviation history). Check out the Red Star Tu-144 book...there was not only an interceptor version, but a number of other proposed military adaptations as well, including an ALBM launcher!
The prospects of 77101 having different dimensions from 77102-77110 is intersting, I'll look into that since it was technically a preseries testbed.
Anyway, check out this (very crude) drawing I made. Note the extended wingtips on the Tu-144D. There's your larger wingspan and wing area for the D model.
By: - 26th January 2006 at 21:39 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Alright. 77101 has, apparently, the same window-door layout as the rest of them, and doesn't appear to have different dimensions either.
Here's where it gets interesting. Remember the wingtip issue? It's a little more complicated than I thought at first. The prototype, 68001, has the "extended" wingtips. The first pre-series Tu-144, 77101, does not. 77102 does. 77144 (77104) does not. 77105 does. 77106 does not. 77108 does. 77109 and 77110 do not. No photos of 77103 or 77107 which show the wingtips wlear enough to determine their status. All of the Tu-144Ds have the "extended" wingtips.
By: - 27th January 2006 at 00:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Perhaps the wingspan discrepancy can be attributed to different aircraft appearing at Paris? 77102, 77144, and 77110 all appeared at the Paris airshow. If person A shows up and gets the dimensions of 77144, and person B shows up and gets the dimensions of 77110, they'll get two different figures for the wingspan.
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By: SOC - 24th January 2006 at 00:19
Does anyone have any credible dimensions for the Tu-144D? Or the number of seats? I'm trying to prove that the D model is not any larger than the baseline S model given the fact that there are the same number of windows, the same number of entry doors, and the fact that the entry doors are all in what appear to be the exact same positions. The Tu-144D is often quoted as being larger, but for some reason this just doesn't jive with the visual evidence.